DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A FANFIC BASED ON BLACK WOLVES SAGA! (READ MY PROFILE FOR MORE INFO!)
あか
Chapter 1: Nameless Girl
The grimy stone walls of the room seemed to be closing in, choking and suffocating. Lying, scrunched up into a foetal position, a young girl, no older than 5 stared wide eyed at the think steel bars of the entrance. Heavy footsteps could be heard coming toward it. Her breath hitched as a black boot appeared in her line of vision.
"How is my little pet today?"
The girl started whimpering and tried to force herself deeper into the shadows, manacles binding her wrists and ankles to the stone ground clinked noisily as she trembled. All this stem she did not dare lift her head, and just stared at those black boots, that seemed to be covered in a dried, dark red liquid.
"Are you ready? What game shall we play today?" mumbled the deep voice of her captor, as he unlocked the dungeon door, before stepping in.
She flinched and started sobbing as he approached her crouching form. A gloved hand reached down and cupped her dirty cheek gently, and his gentleness scared her more. The hand stroked her skin softly; tracing the features of her face like a lover would, before stopping just above her left eye, and proceeded to brush away strands of grimy hair. The girl's eyes were shut tight, and she felt a gloved finger stoke her eyelids lovingly.
"Open your eyes." muttered a gentle voice.
She shook her head sharply. At once, the gentle hand became violent, and a vicious slap was delivered. The force was so strong that it jerked her head sideways, but she was pulled back by the hair roughly, to face him.
"Open your eyes." said the voice, still gentle, but the grip on her straggly hair tightened, squeezing a strangled whimper from her lips. "Open them."
Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, and looked into the face, whose features were so kind, that for a second, she forgot what he was doing to her. Again, a gloved hand brushed her face kindly. "There now, was that so hard? You should not try to hide it. Wear it proudly as a mark of shame, you dirty, dirty half-breed. Remember that you are nothing but trash polluting this clean world. You should just curl up and die, you disgusting little monster. Why, I hate you so. I hate you to the point of wanting to kill you. Why is it you exist? The world would be better off without half-breeds like you. You should just die."
These lines were whispered to her every day, whenever possible that she started to believe them. Tears filled her eyes, her eyes which bore evidence of being what the humans hated most: a Tainted. The girl's right eye was a lovely liquid silver colour, which was a rarity among the human race; however, her left eye was a bright red colour, with a slit pupil. It was this eye which earned her a life like this—a life of torture and discrimination by the humans. The girl couldn't help but blame her parents who were dead now. Her mother had been a human while her father was one of the Foxes. It was considered a miracle she did not have fox ears or a tail, but the only sign of her being a Tainted would be her left eye. It glowed eerily in the darkness of the dungeon.
She stared at the man still gripping her hair. He was smiling gently; his wrinkled face and bushy mustache gave him a fatherly look. It was the fact that he could say such poisonous things and smile so softly at the same time which scared her. She could vaguely remember the day the humans raided her home and killed her parents before taking her. The man in front of her was also smiling during that day. He was smiling when she watched him torture the other Tainted individuals till they begged for death, and finally, they did die—from insanity and infections. Mixed breeds have very short lifespans for some reason, and in the filthy dungeons coupled with dehydration and starvation, they young Tainted did not even live for 6 months in said conditions, but she had managed to survive. This was more of a curse than a miracle, as once the humans found that she was the only survivor that managed to live in such gruelling conditions, they thought she held the key to increasing the life spans of humans to live as long as the other races. Experiments were carried out with samples of her blood, which would be forcefully extracted by the scientists in the most painful way possible.
Being tortured by the humans was also a normal occurrence. Today, he was here again to 'play' with her. She cried, yes, but it was more from helplessness than from the fear of pain. Physical was nothing compared to the fear of losing her sanity and submitting to the humans. Pain was inflicted so constantly that she was soon numb. She couldn't even remember the last time she cried from pain. But she did scream. Oh yes, she screamed as loud as she could, as loud as her larynx allowed her to. If she could scream, pain was nothing.
"Hmm…" mused the man in front of her quietly. "What shall we play today…? Not the needles, they are too boring…not the corkscrews either. You are too used to the pain inflicted by them, no?" The way he asked her this was as though he were discussing the weather, it was unsettling. "Well… I don't really know what to play with you today. The thorn bed, the hot shackles, and the iron poker are all too old… hmm… Ah!"
The girl jerked a little when she heard this triumphant sound. She felt the man release her hair and walk over to a dark corner of the room, and emerged with a long black thing in his hand. "You've never tasted the whip before, have you?"
The girl's wide eyes roved over the black thing. It was coiled tightly and had what looked like old bits of flesh caked on its length. She wondered why she'd never been tortured with this before. It looked harmless compared to the corkscrews. But when the man cracked the whip against the floor, she paled at the sharp sound it made.
"This whip has made the strongest knights in this kingdom break at the first blow. I have never thought of using it on you though…Wonder why…? But let's try this shall we?"
The man pulled at a lever, which caused the chains to tighten and shorten, pulling her frail body toward the wall. This caused her to fall flat on her stomach, exposing her back. the girl had no time to register what had happened when the whip struck her back sharply, tearing through her clothes and ripping her skin. Her world exploded in fire as she searing pain on her back burned and stung. It was so painful and unexpected that her scream was caught in her throat. The man cocked his head to a side and hummed. "Wow. You are a very tough girl… But let's see how long you last…"
The whip struck her back a second time. This time, a scream tore through her mouth, and her eyes began to water. This was worse than anything she'd ever experienced; now she understood why the strongest knights failed to withstand this form of torture. Every time the whip sliced her skin, her world exploded in unimaginable pain. Vaguely she heard the man laughing crazily as he continued to rain blow after blow. She could feel her skin splitting and tearing, as well as blood which slid down to her stomach and drip steadily on the ground.
As she was about to pass out from pain, it stopped. The room became eerily quiet, except for her choking breaths and the harsh panting of the man. Peering behind her, she saw that he was red in the face and looked spent. Tears welled up in her eyes at the disgusting sight behind her. The man laughed quietly and tossed the bloody whip into a corner before sighing in content. "Ah~ that was fun… I think I just found a new game for us to play, no?"
The man threw back his head and started laughing crazily before exiting the dungeons. The girl waited until the footsteps died away before wailing. It hurt. It hurt so bad she wanted to die. Will she ever escape this nightmare? As she lay on her stomach while her back pulsed in pain, something clicked in head. Images of a mutilated corpse of the man that tortured her sprang into her head. She visualised him being eaten by ants. That would hurt, wouldn't it? She wondered out loud how it would be like if he tasted the whip. Would he scream? Would he cry? Has he even been whipped before? The girl hummed at this thought. She had stopped feeling the pain in her back, now she only felt a strange itchiness of her hands. It was a weird feeling; it caused her fingers to tremble. She wanted to do something, but she wasn't sure what it was, except that it would make her very happy, and stop the itchiness of her hands.
After that day, he came down to the dungeons as many times as possible, and each time, he would whip her harder and harder. This continued for days, and sometimes, he would not even wait for her wounds to heal before whipping her again. The black whip cut deeper into her skin and tore open scabbing wounds. No matter how many times she was whipped, she could never get used to the pain. It always brought her to the verge of pleading for forgiveness. Pleading for forgiveness that she was alive; apologizing that she ever existed. After each session, she wished for death to take her, for she did not want to live such a cruel existence.
Years passed, and soon, she was 12 years old. Even though she was approaching teen years, the girl still had no name. She was never given one by her parents, nor was she given one by her captors. Everyone called her a 'thing', and treated her likewise. The humans still abused her physically with various torture methods, but their favorite would be the whip. She hated that black cord, hated the chains binding her, hated the musty dungeon, hated the sounds of the grates opening or closing, hated the silence of the place, but most of all, she loathed the human race more than anything.
Sitting crossed-legged in her prison, the girl stared blankly at the grate. She was waiting for one of the bastards to come. She could tell it was almost time for their 'entertainment'. Sure enough, several minutes later, footsteps were heard descending the stone steps down to the dungeon floor. Laughter and loud conversations echoed along the stone corridor, as she noted that more than one person was coming toward her cell.
She held her breath as a key was slid into the lock and the grate swung open, but no one stepped in. The girl only heard chains clinking and someone breathing heavily before something thudded to the floor in front of her.
"Filthy beast." snarled the voice of a man. "I don't understand why other races exist. Humans should be the only race in this world. We don't need to share the place with scumbags like you."
"Agreed." chuckled another gruff voice. "Wolves are another bane of my existence. If only the king had given order for the extermination of the beasts, I would have gladly done so."
"Heh, let's just go. West will be here to play with him later."
With that final sentence, the men left the dungeons, laughing manically. It was then that the girl could vaguely hear a soft groaning in front of her. Inclining her head upwards, she saw a boy, probably no older than her with blackish-purple coloured hair, rather messy and caked in blood. The girl also noted that he had wolfish ears sticking up on his head, complete with a bushy tail behind him. Peering closer at the boy, she saw him clutching at the left side of his face, which was covered in blood.
She did not move, but stared at him, mesmerised. It was such a long time since she'd seen another person of her age. She suspected he was either from the wolf race or the fox race, judging from his ears and giveaway tail. She shifted her leg slightly, which was numb from sitting in the same position for an extended amount of time. At the sound of her manacles clinking, the boy in front of her tensed and his head shot up. His uninjured right eye was a deep sapphire, which was wide and terrified. It stared straight into her calm liquid silver right orb as straggly lengths of hair covered her cursed left eye.
The girl looked at the pitiful figure in front of her, silently contemplating. He looked so fragile and weak, separated from his pack probably? How did he end up here? She guessed he put up a fight and had his eye gouged out judging from the amount of blood staining his face. She almost scoffed out loud at his panicked expression; he looked so bewildered and frightened. Compared to him, she was calm and composed, sitting quietly against the wall, waiting for the time to come.
"W-who are you…?" whispered the hoarse voice of the boy. Her eyes widened a little. How long had it been since she heard another voice besides that of the humans? Looking directly into his eyes, she answered truthfully. "I don't know."
At this reply, the boy looked even more confused. The girl noticed that he was looking her over, his eye stopping a fraction of a second longer at the manacles and chains binding her to the wall.
"What did you do?" asked the girl. It felt a little weird to be asking someone else a question, as the one asking questions would be the humans as they tortured her.
The boy didn't answer straight away, instead, his good eye narrowed slightly. "You aren't a wolf or a fox. What are you doing down here?"
What was this kid implying? She didn't know. Instead, the girl struggled to stand. It was difficult, since her frail arms had to bear the weight of the heavy manacles.
"I'm… What I am is none of your concern, but since you got yourself thrown in here, you should probably prepare yourself. They will be coming soon." said the girl and she shuffled over to a corner where a pile of rags lay, and pulled out a long strip of cloth before tossing it over to the boy. "You should stop that bleeding…Like the smell of blood down here isn't strong enough already."
The boy still looked rather terrified, but he was trying his best to mask it. He looked apprehensively at her, as though she were the enemy. Collapsing back into her corner, the girl sighed and closed her eyes. A gentle ruffling and a small whimper told her that he was bandaging his eye. This was followed by the sound of someone struggling to get up and a shuffling noise. Her eyes sprang open immediately, and saw that the boy was starting to approach her. She tensed and hissed involuntarily. The boy seemed to have gotten the message that she didn't want him coming any closer, and so he sat down several meters away from her, but he kept staring at her.
She noticed that his sapphire blue eye was no longer filled with dread or fear. Instead there was a distant sadness in it. It was mesmerising. She wondered what made that look in his eye. Was it something in his past? If it was, what was it? Was it painful; sad?
"Have you been in this situation before?" she suddenly asked.
The boy scoffed quietly and a small wry smile tugged at his lips. "Too often… But that's normal for the wolves. We are persecuted by you humans wherever we go."
The accusation of her being a human made her want to scream. This bastard knew nothing, nothing of what she went through. But she wasn't going to deny him; let him go thinking she was one of those filthy beings. He did not earn any right to know what she really was.
"You must be a real dimwit to have been caught by us humans." said the girl sarcastically, flinching a little at the words 'us'. "Were you too slow, or they were just too fast for you?"
The boy didn't scream or shout at her insolent words. Instead he looked at her in disgust. "Maybe so, but we wouldn't be running if it weren't for your lot. I really can't fathom the human mind. Why is it you hunt us? What did we ever do to you? Why are you trying to exterminate the other races?" questioned the boy, not expecting to receive an answer. "I don't understand…"
"I could be asking the same thing…" scoffed the girl quietly, in a voice loud enough for only her to hear, looking down at her shackles.
It was silent for a period of time, broken when the sound of a metal door, being slammed open echoed into the dungeon, causing both children to look up, startled. A set of heavy footsteps could be heard stomping down the hallway and stopping in front of the grate. Keys jangled as the lock was opened, letting in that man.
The girl curled up immediately, trying to stop herself from trembling. The boy noticed her reaction and observed as the man walked over to her, before gripping a handful of her dark hair, forcing her to look at him. Her eyes scrunched shut in pain as the grip on her hair tightened.
"How is my little pet today? I see you've met a new friend, no? Let me see, I think we'll play my favourite game today, and we'll even let your friend join! I fact, I think I'll start with him first…" The man's soft voice sent shivers up her spine. He roughly released her hair and moved over to collect the long black whip, the whip that had bits of flesh and caked on it, her flesh and blood…
Grinning like an insane person, he cracked the whip, causing her to flinch, even though she tried not to. Her body had learnt that the sound of the whip meant that pain was coming. She peered through the locks of long straggly hair and saw that the man was advancing toward the wolf boy, who wasn't even trying to cower or run away, instead, the boy was looking at him with a rather calm and determined face. But she could tell that he was scared, his hands were balled and trembling.
"Well…? Aren't you going to bow to your superiors? Go on! Lick my boots like a good little wolf pup, and maybe I'll not hurt you too badly." the man chuckled as he thrust out a foot into the boy's face, prodding his chin.
She watched as the boy refused to tear his gaze from the man's face, but stared back determined, a strange fire burning in his sapphire eye. She had to admit he was not bad, having the guts to look at that man with such defiance. Whatever happened next was to be expected. the man suddenly stuck the boy with the whip, which caught him in the face, knocking him sideways onto the floor.
"You…YOU… You insolent animal! How dare you look at me with such disrespect! You filthy beast! You deranged piece of filth! I should whip you till you lick the ground at my feet for mercy!" screamed the man, becoming violent. Blow after blow, the whip sliced the boy's back. She watched with wide eyes. For some reason, the scene in front of her jarred her nerves. The way the boy lay helpless, and the whip, continuously raining down, cutting into his flesh. She saw blood, starting to slide down the body of the boy, soaking his clothes and staining the whip. Each time the boy's body was hit; the man laughed and increased speed and strength. And did the boy scream. He screamed and screamed, but not once did he beg for mercy; not once did he grovel; and not once did he shed a tear. The wails ripped at her ears, causing them to tremble. Her hair stood up on end as she continued to watch the torture scene in front of her. Somehow, the screams pierced her being, and made her eyes prickle. Gritting her teeth, she covered her ears with her hands. Please stop… Oh good God, please just make it stop! Maybe it was because she had been alone for so long she couldn't remember how it felt like to listen to another scream in such agony. Perhaps she just hated the sight of absolute helplessness in front of her, but whatever it was, she just wanted it to stop.
"STOP IT!"
The words had escaped her lips before she knew it, and the noise reverberated around the stone room. At once, the sounds of whipping stopped, and an unsettling silence fell, broken only by the pained pants of the injured boy. She lifted her head and saw the man staring at her incredulously, and the boy looking at her through his half shut eye. The latter was so badly injured and worn out that the girl doubted that he had been whipped before.
"What. Did. You. Say…?" whispered the man, in a tight voice, his hand clearly tightening around the handle of the whip. "Did you just interrupt me? Do you want to be whipped that badly? Huh?! If that is so, fine. You will have this little pup's share of pain, you deformed little bitch."
She watched as the man approached her, an incredibly crazed look on his face. He slammed a lever down which forced her downwards on her stomach. As she did so, her hair was forced out of the way, exposing the back of her ripped clothes, where the skin of her back was visible. On it were countless diagonal scars, welts, and sores. They were clear indicators of being whipped almost every day.
Her head was conveniently turned to a side, facing the wolf boy, lying a way away from her. She saw his eye widen at the sight of her scars. Scoffing quietly, she waited for the whip to hit her, and it did, with so much force that her head jerked back sharply in pain. A high-pitched scream tore through her lips, as more and more blows rained down.
In the haze of pain, she wondered why she stopped the man from hurting the young wolf. What did she do that for? Was it out of sympathy? Pity? Or was it just because she wanted to? She didn't know herself anymore.
"You… How long have you been here for?" asked the voice of the wolf boy.
Looking up at him, she sighed. It had been 2 days since he was captured, and every time the humans came to torture them, she would try to stop them from hurting the boy too bad, at the price of being beaten close to death each time. He had asked her to stop, and not to think that he was weak and that she should not try to pity him because she was one of them humans. She had retaliated by telling him to mind his own business, and that what she did was her problem, and he should just be a good wolf and stay out of the human's business.
"9 years, give or take a couple months." answered the girl, tugging more hair over her left eye. "Why do you ask?"
She looked at him again. The boy looked pallid and pale. She wondered if it was from the pain of the whip, or the pain of his left eye, which was still bandaged in the rag she had given him.
"I just had to know. Now I get why you… you seem to be used to the pattern of each day, and to what… your people do to you." replied the boy, leaning against the wall, his sapphire eye staring up at the ceiling.
"You… Why do you always speak in such a low and composed tone? It's like you don't care what happens to you… I don't get it." said the girl, and she scrutinised the wolf again. "You're weird."
For some reason, the wolf boy chuckled at her words. "Weird… Huh? My brother says that too." he suddenly looked sadder than before. The girl wondered if it was because he missed his family. "I wonder how he is now…?"
Looking at his face, she sighed. "I guess he's looking for you. Isn't that what packs do?" she scoffed, and closed her eyes.
"I don't know, honestly." muttered the wolf boy absently. "He'd never—"
But his sentence was not finished when a long and loud howl sounded from above them. Audible growls and barks, as well as the pattering of many feet followed this howl. The two children stood up in shock. The girl could hear the humans shouting and screaming, and menacing growls which ended with loud wails of pain and agony. More screaming and yelling; more growls and barks. Finally, with a loud crash, she heard the entrance to the dungeons open, and many pattering footsteps approached the cell which she was held in. The sound of yelling and barking intensified after the steel door was forced open. The girl could now hear the unmistakable sounds of a ferocious battle occurring outside: The clashing of rapiers, the crackle of fire, and the stench of blood wafted into the musty dungeons.
Suddenly, she saw several wolves, all of different sizes and dark colours come into view. They were all snarling and snapping. Amongst them was a man—a very beautiful man, with long blackish-purple hair, and cold aquamarine eyes. He wore a distinguished suit with an elegant sheath and sword by his side. The girl noted his wolf ears and tail swishing behind him, and knew what they came for.
The wolf outside raised his hand, and at once, all the wolves beside him howled loudly and rammed at the grate. With several pushes, the entire grate gave way and crashed to the ground. The wolves poured in, hackles rising, and teeth showing, but somehow, the girl saw relief in their eyes, possibly because the wolf boy was still alive and well.
Suddenly, a gold-ish brown wolf in front of the pack rushed forwards and morphed into human form, which was of a boy, younger than her with sapphire blue eyes and beautiful brown-gold hair that framed his angelic face, which was twisted into a mix of worry, annoyance, irritation and anger. Completely ignoring her, he rushed up to the wolf boy and grabbed his collar before shaking him roughly.
"You stupid, stupid idiot!" he shouted, "How could you be so unbelievingly stupid to let yourself get caught by those human scum!? I don't understand you, Nii-san! What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you run fast enough?! You ass!"
Although the younger boy looked positively fuming, his eyes were a little watery, and his voice sounded strangled. The other wolf boy smiled wryly and he patted his brother's head. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry."
"Hell, you'd better be! Elizer-sama was completely nuts when we found out you were gone. Hey! What the hell happened to your eye! Did those humans do something to you?" demanded the younger wolf angrily.
"Ah, this…? They… dug my eye out when I resisted capture. I… won't be able to see again, I'm afraid." mumbled the older wolf quietly, much to the horror of his younger brother.
"Nii-san…" he choked out, before exploding in anger. "Who the HELL did it?! Who!? Is it her?!" screamed the younger wolf as he pointed at the girl, finally acknowledging her presence. "I'll KILL her!"
"Stop it, Yozora." cut in a deep, ordering voice, before the wolf had a chance to lunge at her. "It appears that she is a prisoner as well, and she is chained to the wall. I doubt that it was her who injured Aozora."
The girl looked at the tall man, who slowly approached her. He seemed to be looking her over, just like how the boy called Aozora did the first time they met. He narrowed his aquamarine eyes at her absence of ears or a tail. "You are a human. Why are you here?" he questioned in a cold voice.
The girl did not answer. She was sick and tired of being grouped with the humans, but there was no way in hell she was going to reveal her true race. Why, these wolves may take her into custody as well once they find out that she is a Tainted, a being with no definite race.
"I don't know." she finally answered, looking straight into the wolf's eyes. "You should ask the ones who put me here."
At her calm words, the man in front of her raised an eyebrow. He let his eyes rove over her body once more, and saw clear signs of torture and abuse. He wondered why the humans would do this to their own kind. Huh, they really are unsalvageable, that race.
"She… for some reason, tried to make my captors stop torturing me and to do so to her instead. She took my share of whipping as well as hers. Why she did so, I am unsure." said Aozora as he struggled to his feet, while being supported by his brother.
The man's eyes widened at his piece of news. The girl could sense surprise and bewilderment as she looked him in the eye. She wondered what he was going to do to her. "Why did you try to help Aozora…? Why would you help one of the wolf race?" he questioned, and crouched down to her height.
The girl stared into his blue eyes and did not answer. She merely looked deep into his eyes, and saw many emotions swirling in its depths: Confusion, interest, and something akin to surprise.
"I did it because he was screaming." answered the girl truthfully. "He just wouldn't stop screaming. It was so… strangely uncomfortable."
At her reply, the man suddenly chuckled softly. He looked at her in amazement and wonder. "You are the first human to say that… And I thank you for helping Aozora. However, this does not forgive the past actions of your race of persecuting our people. Therefore I will do this to pay the debt."
The man raised his hand, which had claws instead of nails, before swiping downwards, and snapping her manacles open. The girl looked at her swollen wrists and ankles before looking back at the man, who stood up and went over to his pack. "With this, I no longer owe your race anything. Even though you have helped one of us, if I ever meet you again on the battlefield, I will not hesitate to strike you down. After all, I owe you nothing."
With those final words, the wolf pack morphed into their wolf forms, except Aozora, who was injured and had to be carried by the large wolf. With a loud howl, the pack bounded out of the dungeons and into the wild. leaving a ringing silence behind.
The girl stood in the middle of the dungeon, still digesting all that happened. Finally, she started walking slowly out of the cell, and down the corridor, leading to the outside world. As she walked, she could see the steel door ripped off its hinges lying on the ground, which let in fresh and sweet night air. It felt strange, being able to finally walk away from the hole which she was locked in for 9 years. A fluttery feeling blossomed in her gut as she stepped out through the steel door into the night, which was bright with fire. Looking around, the town which she had been kept in was in ruins. Dead bodies of soldiers and villagers were strewn everywhere, including several wolf corpses. Buildings were burning and crops ruined. There was not a sound to be heard except for the steady crackle of fire and the soft chirping of crickets in the night. The girl wandered around the ruined town while avoiding the dead bodies. She wanted to remember this scene. This… This was retribution to what the humans did to her. Even though the damage was done by the wolves, she was happy. Happy that they massacred the town that destroyed her life and tortured her. For the first time in a long while, a smile lit her face. A twisted, satisfied smile.
Suddenly, a soft whimpering was heard. It came from an overturned cart. Curious, the girl padded over to it, and saw who else, but the man with the moustache that tortured her with the whip for those 9 years. He was trying to pull himself from under the cart, but there was a long stake of wood that impaled his right leg, thus incapacitating him. At the sound of footsteps approaching, the man quickly turned to look. He sighed in relief at the sight of her and held out a hand. "Oh, there you are…" he panted. "Please… Help me get out from under here. Come on… Take my hand and pull… Help me…Help me…"
The girl looked at the man in front of her. He looked so pathetic and weak that she wanted to laugh. She had him now… He was at her mercy. She contented to watch him beg for her help awhile longer before answering. 'Okay… I'll help you get out."
At once the man looked hopeful. "Ehehe… Really! Hurry! Help me!" he shouted, in a high and squeaky voice. His expression was deranged as he scraped the ground, trying to get out.
"Umm! I will help you! Just let me get something to lift the cart up." said the girl and she ran off.
'Yes! Yes! Hurry!" panted the man, scrabbling at the ground. Soon, she returned with a rapier in her hands, taken from one of the fallen knights. Then she walked calmly over to the injured man, who squealed at the sight of her. "Finally! You're back! Come and help me! Please!"
Slowly, the girl walked over to the man and looked at his face. She then straddled him before raising the rapier above her head. "I'm back… And now I'll help you…"
With one clean stroke, she stabbed the man trough the throat, causing blood to spurt out of the severed arteries and pool around the man's head. He choked and drowned in his own blood, as she watched, twisting the rapier to cause more pain. Then, using her left hand, she brushed the hair out of her left eye, exposing the bright red orb with a slit pupil. She stared down at the dying man, and a serene smile spread across her lips.
"I want you to look at me. Look into my eye are remember it. Remember that it is this half-breed that killed you. You told me to wear my eye as a symbol of shame, but I think not. It will now be the symbol of your death, and that a pathetic bastard like you died with this eye being the last thing you ever see."
That night the humans lost a large town to the attack of the wolves, and the last of the Tainted was released into the world. The last half breed in existence, who after that fateful night, decided to name herself Aka, which meant red.
Red like the blood which coated her after the execution of the man who tortured and abused her.
Her name was a reminder of what happened that night, the night she made her first kill. The night she spilt blood of another. The night when the itchiness of her hands finally stopped after his heart stopped beating.
She was the nameless girl no more.
Next Chapter: The Guravitch brothers